


if my heart was a compass you'd be north

by zanthetran



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Las Vegas AU, but also maybe something?, gondolier!kara, what started as crack is now.....still crack, yknow as they say
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:29:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25832089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zanthetran/pseuds/zanthetran
Summary: She doesn’t plan to go on the gondola. She’s really glad she goes on the gondola. feat: agentreignorthe one where kara’s super hot arms and angelic voice makes shitfaced drunk (and then totally sober) lena fall in Love (lafg - Love At First Gondola).
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 8
Kudos: 73





	1. gondola

**Author's Note:**

> what’s up girls and gays? I know I don’t watch supergirl anymore but we just don't think about that. anyways the gondola rides in Vegas are super cool would recommend but also I was most definitely a little drunk and also a lot high, so take THAT as you will.
> 
> dunno what the posting schedule will be like for this so just....wait n see :)
> 
> title from: if my heart was a house by owl city

Okay, so she’s a little bit drunk. It’s the first time she’s seen Sam in over a year, of course they’re going to have a bit of fun, and when you’re in Vegas time just doesn’t really matter all that much, which is why she’s drunk at 5 pm on a Thursday.

They had finished their meetings with the two other CEO’s earlier that day (really, would they ever have an excuse to see each other that _didn’t_ involve work?) and then Sam was buying her a drink that tasted like juice but must’ve had a _lot_ of alcohol because the next thing she remembers is downing shots at 6:30 pm in front of the Bellagio fountain show.

The lights flash bright and colorful over Sam’s face and Lena hugs her like only a drunk girl can, pulling her close and mumbling into her hair, “I love you so much, you know that? _So_ much. Like, I’d adopt you if I could.” She pulls back, face puzzled. “Can I?”

And Sam, who apparently has had less to drink than Lena, holds her steady and smiles and says, “No, but I know you would.”

They end up at the Venetian, _somehow_. She’s not really sure how they gotthere — she can’t remember walking and she definitely doesn’t remember taking a cab or the rail — but eventually they do, and she almost loses her shit when she walks in.

Also, it should be pointed out that she _has_ been to Las Vegas before and has definitely been in at least every single casino on the strip, and yet every time she walks into one like the Venetian, it makes her head spin. She’s sure it’s the ceiling, with the fake clouds painted so realistic her drunk brain is convinced they’re moving, or the way the lights from hidden shop roofs shine on the clouds (and Lena heard somewhere that the lights actually move, making the clouds also look like they move too). Or maybe it’s the little shops themselves that look so realistic, like they’re right out of a movie or something.

Or maybe it’s the huge fucking _river_ on the second floor.

Either way, the Venetian is probably one of her favorite casino out of them all.

So yeah, she ends up at the Venetian and she’s not really sure who says, “Oh my god, you know what they have here? Those gondola rides!” But they end up on the second floor, walking (stumbling? She hates heels) along the fairly long body of water while voices overlap each other in the booming acoustics of the hall. Small shops line either side but Lena and Sam make a beeline for the ticket counter, buying two tickets and getting in line.

She watches the gondoliers loop back on the small boats — dropping passengers off and picking up new ones before moving on — and starts keeping track of who is going to be their gondolier. It isn’t a conscious thing, her brain just kind of does it, and she can’t lie about being a bit disappointed when she realizes the dude with the weird beard and hard eyes is going to be their gondolier.

Sam says, “Oh my god, look at _her_ ,” and points to a woman at the other end of the water. She talks furiously on her phone, short brown hair brushing her chin before snapping the phone shut and angrily stomping off.

Lena turns to Sam, brain still working six paces behind. “Are you saying she’s attractive? Sam, she looks like a soccer mom.”

Sam’s eyes go wide and she swats at Lena’s arm. “She does _not_! She _looks_ like someone I want in my hotel bed tonight.”

If Lena could roll her eyes any harder she would have. “Are you going to make your rounds on the entirety of Las Vegas or are you going to keep it to just the strip?”

Sam shrugs like she’s actually considering it and hands their tickets to the woman in a black and white striped shirt. Lena looks up expecting the scruffy beard dude, but instead a stunning blue eyed blonde holds her hand out, smile on her face. “Ready?” she asks.

She doesn’t reply — _can’t_ reply — but it doesn’t seem to matter because the blonde takes her hand anyways and helps her into the gondola, and all Lena can think about is how strong her hands are, how strong her _arms_ must be to guide a boat.

_Get ahold on yourself you useless lesbian._

Sam gets in on her own, waving off the woman’s offered hand and sitting across from Lena, her back towards their driver. The woman pushes off the dock with her foot and they’re moving, soft waves lapping gently at the sides of the boat. She looks down at them both and grins wide, hand gripping the handle of the steering oar.

“Where are you guys from?” she asks, eyes flicking from watching where she’s driving them to Lena and back again, like every time she looks away she realizes she needs to get another look.

“New York,” Lena says while Sam says, “Canada.”

She chuckles. “Wow, long distance must be tough, huh?”

And it’s definitely the alcohol — she’s not going to admit to any other reason she’s like this — that her brain is still working six paces behind and she just says, “Yeah, it is, but we see each other when we can.”

Sam looks at her, mouth literally open. She says, “You dumb-ass, she thinks we’re _dating_.”

Lena’s cheeks heat and she looks from Sam to their driver and says, “Oh, god no, we’re not dating sorry. She’s like my sister,” she explains (though why she feels the need to explain to their gondolier that she isn’t dating Sam is beyond her).

The blonde steers them around a corner and her cheeks are tinted the same shade of pink as Lena’s, she notes. “Sorry, didn’t mean to assume. We get a lot of couples that take these rides,” she says, eyes flicking back down to Lena and stopping there.

Lena can’t speak, her mouth literally doesn’t form words. Thank god it doesn’t have to because the gondolier — _Kara,_ her name tag says — looks back up and asks, “What song do ya’ll wanna hear?”

Sam snorts. Lena _finally_ gets her head out of her ass and says, “Whatever you want to sing is fine.”

Sam rolls her eyes, knowing Lena’s _professional_ voice when she hears it. Kara waits a few seconds then says, “Oh! I got a good one. Learned it at the academy of music back in Midvale,” she says.

“Wait, you grew up in _Midvale?_ ” Sam asks disbelievingly.

Kara grins down at her, though Sam can’t see it. “Yeah! I was adopted when I was twelve, but my sister Alex and I moved to Vegas a few years back.”

“It’s a long ways from home,” Lena says quietly, though Kara obviously hears it. She looks down at her, face softened even more under the lights of the shops.

“Yeah,” she says just as quietly. “It is.”

There’s a long silence between them, just the sound of the water lapping at the sides of the boat and other gondoliers singing and people talking near the shops.

And then they run into the wall, kinda forcefully, and Lena is sent sideways, hand coming out in reflex to stop herself from hitting the stone to her right.

“Sorry! Gosh, wasn’t paying attention — sorry,” Kara apologizes, using the oar to steer them back on track with a bright flush to her cheeks. She avoids eye contact with Lena and says, “Oh yeah, the song! It’s a jazz piece — or a swing piece, not really much difference between them,” she says, and when neither woman responds she clears her throat and snaps off a quick beat, one hand holding the oar tight.

Lena isn’t expecting much — sure, she can probably sing but like, she works as a gondolier at a hotel/casino in Las Vegas, how good can she _really_ be?

Apparently, good enough to cause Lena to stare, open mouthed, as a smooth sweet voice flows out, practiced Neapolitan wrapping around her tongue.

“ _Tu vuo’ fa’ ll’americano, mericano, mericano. Sient’a mme chi t’ ‘o ffa fa’?_ ” she sings, finger snapping to keep the beat of the song. Her hair falls over her shoulder, blonde and looking soft enough to run her fingers through and — _jesus,_ Lena is more drunk than is probably wise. “ _Tu vuoi vivere alla moda, ma se bevi_ , “whisky and soda”. _Po’ te siente ‘e distruba’._ ”

Her voice is clear and obviously trained as she sings, eyes focused on the path in front of them. She taps her foot and maneuvers them around a curve and into the middle of a large circular pool where she stops the boat. Her voice carries on, echoing off the walls. People stop and stare, obviously transfixed by this woman and she looks like she knows it too (probably happens every single time). She only glances around at the stopped crowed for a second before her eyes land on Lena again.

(Lena’s eyes had never left her.)

“ _Mericano, mericano, ma si’ nato in Italy. Sient’ a mme, nun ce sta niente ‘a fa’, ok, napulitan. Tu vou’ fa’ ll’american, tu vou’ fa’ ll’american,”_ she finishes, taking a quick breath after the last word. It’s silent for only a second before the stopped crowd claps loud as they disperse, and Lena feels herself doing the same automatically.

She tries to play it off but she knows Sam can see the blush on her face. Kara pushes them off the wall and starts back towards where they got on.

“So how long will you be here?” Kara asks.

Lena doesn’t even think before she says, “Nine days.”

Sam raises an eyebrow. Lena doesn’t look at her.

“There’s loads to see — you should get a tour guide!” Kara says excitedly.

“You offering?” Sam asks, looking up at her.

Kara smiles politely at Sam then looks back up. “Sorry, my schedule is booked,” she says.

(Lena doesn’t think about the way her stomach sinks a bit at the obvious brush off.)

They make it back to the small dock and Sam climbs out first. Kara grabs Lena’s hand and helps her up onto the dock, grip held a few seconds too long (by Kara or Lena — it’s unclear) and she says, “It was nice meeting you, Lena.”

“You too,” Lena replies immediately, then wants to hit herself for sounding…what? Desperate? Like she’s fallen in love at first sight?

(Which she hasn’t, by the way.)

They thank Kara and then head down to the casino floor. They pass by the small shops starting to close up for the night and then Lena ends up at a bar with Sam handing her a shot that tastes like candy, and then she does two more. They order drinks and find a bench against the wall outside.

Sam says, “I’m gonna find that hot soccer mom.”

Lena looks over her her, straw in her mouth, sucking up the sweet drink. “I support that.” Then she stops, looks around slowly at their surroundings and says, “Sam, I don’t think I’ll be able to walk back to the hotel.”

Sam laughs loud. “I figured,” she says, sounding quite drunk herself.

Lena giggles (literally giggles, what kind of drunk _is_ she?) and leans against her. Sam’s hair is soft under her cheek when she lays her head on her shoulder. “I’m really glad you’re here with me.”

“Me too,” Sam says.

She does get back to her hotel room. Sam practically pours her on the bed when they stumble through the door and Lena can’t stop laughing. Her limbs are heavy and she can’t get that _song_ out of her head (even though drunk or sober, she doesn’t speak Italian _or_ Neapolitan) and she’s pretty sure she spent a _lot_ of money on those slot machines, but she doesn’t care — she’s drunk and happy. And after Sam leaves back to her own room, she thinks about blue eyes and strong hands and she rubs her clit until she screams, then passes out with the lights still on.


	2. forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lena tries to forget gondola girl (it doesn't work)

She tries to forget about Kara. Tries meaning the next day she opens up tinder for the first time in over a year and starts swiping through the profiles while she and Sam are waiting on lunch.

Sam looks over the top of her phone. “Trying to find that gondolier?” she asks. Lena glares. Sam raises her hands in defense. “Hey, I bet she’s on there. She was really giving you the eye last night.”

“She wasn’t _giving me the eye,_ Sam. She was — she was doing her job,” Lena says lamely, the excuse sounding stupid even to her own ears. Her thumb swipes left on a brunette, sharp features accentuating her eyes.

“She probably would’ve fu —“

The waiter walks up with their food, thank _god_ , and Sam stops mid sentence _._ Lena puts her phone down on the table and pulls her fork and knife from the cloth napkin.

“Lena, if you don’t swipe right…” Sam trails off, raising a pointed eyebrow at the profile of a grinning blonde on the screen, one arm raised in a flex but for some reason it doesn’t come off as douchey.

Lena swipes left. Sam glares at her.

She ends up with the severe looking brunette between her legs that night. She finds the tattoo when she pulls her shirt off but doesn’t take time to stop and really _look,_ only letting herself be pushed down on the bed as the woman (Victoria? Veronica? She genuinely can’t remember) lowers to her knees between her legs.

The orgasm is…an orgasm. It happens and it’s not particularly phenomenal and she kicks the woman out after she returns the favor. Five minutes later she’s grinding down on her palm, three fingers deep, and imagining a strong hand holding her still, a flexed bicep bracing a (probably just as ripped) body above her as she comes hard.

* * *

Days in Las Vegas are all kind of the same — they go to meetings all morning and afternoon, get lunch, go back to meetings, and by 4 pm they’re having their first drinks at the bar and taking them to the slot machines for a bit.

Sam says, “I can’t get that hot brunette out of my head.”

“Did you find her yet?” Lena asks.

“No,” she says (a little sadly). “Not on Facebook, apparently. Wish I had more to go on.”

“Maybe try tinder,” Lena quips, placing another couple hundred dollars into the machine and pressing the ‘max bet’ button. Buffalo run across the screen but she’s not paying attention if she’s winning or not.

“You are a ton of help, thank you,” Sam says, eyes on her own machine and pressing the button.

The waitress picks up her empty glass and puts down another drink. Lena pulls out a couple bills (far more than necessary) and hands them to her, a small smile on her face. She takes a sip of the sweet drink through the straw and presses the max bet button again. The words are out of her mouth before she even realizes what she’s saying, and by then it’s too late.

“She might be near the gondola rides again.”

Sam’s eyes light up. “Great idea, lets go,” she says, cashing out and getting up. Lena leaves the few hundred dollars in the machine and follows her through the crowded casino and out onto the street.

They get onto the rail at MGM Grand and take it all the way to the Linq, walking the rest of the way to the Venetian practically next door.

Sam says, “So we’re going on the boat again, right?”

Lena furrows her brows. “No?”

“C’mon, it was pretty cool last time — I mean, other than you practically salivating over the gondolier,” Sam says. They walk past the same small shops that really do remind her of some parts of Paris and towards the end of the small river where people stand in line waiting for the boat rides.

“Why would we go on the gondola again, Sam? I thought we were here for your hot soccer mom.”

“We are — one can have two missions at the same time.”

Lena starts to protest but Sam doesn’t listen to her and buys two tickets, leading her to the end of the line. Kara isn’t there (she checks) and Lena finally agrees to get on a boat again. Sam looks around like a crazy person (and Lena does too but less like a maniac), then Lena says, “I don’t think she’s here.”

Sam, for her part, doesn’t look disappointed (and Lena, for her part, doesn’t feel disappointed either, but about a different woman, obviously). She then turns and grins over at Lena. “Think _Kara_ will be here?”

They take a step forward in line. Lena flicks the edge of the ticket with her thumb. “No,” she says, trying (and failing) to sound nonchalant.

“Why don’t you just get her number?”

Lena shoots her a look, taking another step forward as the line moves. “I don’t _want_ her number, Sam. I’m not looking for a relationship.”

Sam laughs. “Who said anything about a relationship? I’m talking about being with a woman who looks like she could crush you with her bare hands.”

Lena looks away, trying to stop the flush creeping up her neck _. Do they crank the heat in this place_? She starts counting the gondoliers, matching them up with the people in line and her brain picks out their gondolier, standing on the platform in his boat and singing to a couple sitting side by side. He’s tall and muscular and not all that bad to look at — if she liked men, that is. She can’t hear him but he looks happy when he sings and he sort of reminds her of Kara.

She pushes _that_ thought from her mind and moves with the line. The couple in front of them gets on their gondola and floats away, and Lena watches their gondolier pull his boat into the dock and stop it with his foot. The people exit the boat and the man — James, his name tag says — sticks out his hand to help her into the boat.

“Hey! I’m back, you can go on break now. I’ll take this one,” a voice says behind her.

It’s like it happens in slow motion — Lena turns to the sound and sees the bane of her existence (or at least the woman living rent free in her mind for the past two days) jump over the railing to the dock and skid to a stop next to James, hand still outstretched. She claps him firm on the shoulder and smiles a little too big and basically pulls him all the way onto the dock, taking his place with one foot on the boat, one foot on the dock.

It’s _really_ hot in this place. They have to have turned on the heat or something. There’s no reason it should be this warm in the summer.

Kara sticks her hand out, world moving back to real time, and she smiles at Lena.

“Hi,” she says.

Lena literally cannot form a response and Sam rolls her eyes, pushing past her and stepping onto the boat. “Alright, Kara. We better get a good song this time,” she says, taking a seat with her back to the platform Kara is standing on (of course, leaving the only seat facing Kara, _again_ ).

A strong hand grips her own as she steps onto the boat and sits down, and then they’re off. Kara keeps her eyes up as she steers them forward. “So, y’all just really like gondolas?”

Sam snorts. “You could say that.”

Lena says, “Sam suggested it. She’s looking for a mystery woman.”

Sam kicks her — _hard._

Kara grins down at the top of Sam’s head. “Mystery woman, huh? What does she look like? Maybe I know her.”

“A hot soccer mom,” Lena offers.

“She doesn’t look like —“

Lena raises an eyebrow. Sam huffs.

“Yeah, hot soccer mom. Short brown hair, looks like she could beat the shit out of you?” Sam says to Kara, turning to look up at her.

Kara thinks for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip. “Hm. No, doesn’t sound like anyone I’d know. When did you last see her?”

“Two days ago, when we last came here.”

“Have you tried Facebook?” Kara asks.

“Tried, failed,” Lena says (because of course she looked — but she couldn’t find any leads on the bare amount of information she had to go on).

“Tinder?”

“No luck yet,” Sam says.

“I’ll keep my eyes out then. I wanna find this mystery woman — I’m a romantic,” Kara says.

Sam looks over at Lena, glint in her eye. “Well, that would make two in this boat.”

Lena wants to strangle her, or at least push her overboard. Water laps softly at the edges of the boat as they glide through, going around bends and turns and passing other gondolas on the way. When Lena looks back up at Kara, there’s a slight flush to her cheeks and she’s very pointedly _not_ looking at Lena.

See? It _is_ hot in here. It’s not just Lena.

“Right, so what do y’all wanna hear?” Kara asks, eyes flicking down to Lena after a minute.

“Give us a love song,” Sam says before Lena can answer, and the glint in her eyes is all that much brighter, more mischievous.

“Great!” Kara beams. “I know loads of those. Uh, how about _Venezia la luna e tu_?”

“Sounds perfect, thanks Kara,” Sam deadpans. Lena glares. Kara probably could’ve chosen any love song and Sam would’ve let her sing it.

“ _Passano sul mar le gondole,_ ” she sings, voice slow and clear as she confidently steers them around. “ _Placide, fra i sogni d’or ed ogni gondolier con nostalgia sospira la canzone sua d’amor._ ”

Lena’s Italian isn’t great — it’s passable, definitely enough to go to Italy and be able to get around, but not great in informal conversation, and she definitely can’t pronounce all the words completely right. The song is one she recognizes and she tries to concentrate on the words and translate them back to English, suddenly curious for the first time what the song is about.

The boat starts to turn and then Kara stops them in the middle of the large circular pool again. Just like the last time, shoppers and party goers alike stop to watch Kara sing.

“ _Venezia, la luna e tu._ ” Her eyes move from the crowd of onlookers down to Lena. Her voice echoes through the room — _god_ the acoustics are fantastic. “ _Fra un sussurrar di dolci cantilene coi baci ti diro: ‘Ti voglio bene.' Venezia, la luna e tu. E questo il grande sogno che non si scorda più_.”

Lena doesn’t feel Sam watching her, or the other people watching Kara watching Lena — all she sees is Kara’s eyes and all she hears is Kara’s voice and she _really_ shouldn’t want both of those things to continue for the foreseeable future.

_And yet_.

The song goes on and Kara doesn’t take her eyes from Lena and it feels like _something —_ something she’s definitely not going to think any harder about.

Kara finishes with one last slow, “ _Venezia, la luna e tu_.” The crowd claps (Lena balls her hands into fists at her sides and does _not_ clap like an idiot like last time).

(Kara looks a bit disappointed, and that might be the reason. _Who knows._ )

Kara pushes off the wall with her foot and starts them back towards the dock, the oar swiftly cutting through the water. When they get back Kara helps Sam out and says, “I’ll keep my eye out for hot soccer mom.”

Her hand reaches out and holds Lena’s and then Lena is just _standing_ there on the dock like an idiot holding her hand and Kara looks like she wants to say something, but Sam pulls on her wrist and all Lena ends up saying is, “Thanks for the ride.”

_Thanks for the ride?_ Jesus christ _._

Sam leads her through the mass of people now waiting for a gondola ride (probably hoping they’ll get Kara) and into a small restaurant that serves only grilled cheese and soup. Sam seats herself (though it doesn’t even look like there _is_ a hostess) and picks up a menu.

“I’m starving,” she says.

_Apparently_.

Lena picks up the menu and scans through it. The pictures are all of greasy sandwiches with various meats and cheeses inside of them, and on the back of the menu is something called a ‘grilled cheese donut’ which, Lena doesn’t even _want_ to know what that abomination is. They order screwdrivers and sandwiches and Lena gets a salad instead of a soup. The waiter brings the drinks first and Lena remembers why Las Vegas is the actual best place in the entire world — it’s never frowned upon to get a drink, _and_ every restaurant has alcohol (including IHOP).

Screwdrivers aren’t her favorite but it brings back memories of college (the second degree) when she met Sam — spending nights in her dorm drinking until they ended up laying side by side, talking about anything and everything. Sam is the first one Lena ever said the word ‘lesbian’ to. She’s the one who convinced Lena to start actually _dating_ (though that one hasn’t really worked out so far, so).

She’s been there, and Lena is grateful, so she’ll drink her screwdriver because Sam loves them and isn’t getting laid by the hot soccer mom tonight (and Lena feels a bit bad about that).

They eat and head back out, walking towards the casino on the first floor when Sam slaps her arm. Lena looks over at her, brows furrowed. “What?”

Sam points to the other end of the walkway. “That’s hot soccer mom,” she says, whispering even though whoever she’s looking at can’t possibly hear them.

Lena scans her eyes over the crowd and misses her at first, then her eyes snap back to the brunette sitting on a bench near the end of the river. She’s got one arm over the back of the bench and her ankle resting on her knee, scrolling through her phone slowly.

Lena looks back at Sam who actually looks _nervous._ They’ve stopped walking now and people go around them, shooting them dirty looks.

“Are you going to go over there?”

Sam looks over at the brunette on the bench, then back to Lena. “I mean, it’s the second time in one trip. Must be fate, right?”

Lena thinks about Kara — then Lena tries really hard _not_ to think about Kara and the way she looked at her when she sang a literal love song.

She snorts. “Fate.”

(Does it count as fate if you go looking for it?)

Sam takes a step towards the brunette on the bench and says, “Want me to ask if she’s got a sister?”

Lena rolls her eyes. “Please don’t.”

* * *

Her phone wakes her up. She’s face down on her bed and the pillow is on top of her head and she doesn’t know how it ended up like that. She blindly reaches out across the bed to find the offending piece of metal and holds the bright screen close to her face to read the name of the person she is going to fire later for waking her up.

It’s Sam (of course) and she presses the answer button with her thumb, holding the phone to her ear. “What?”

Sam laughs. “Wow, good morning to you too, sunshine,” she says sarcastically. There’s the sound of people talking and slot machines and Sam says, “Come meet us for breakfast. We’re at the IHOP near the Linq.”

Lena is quiet for a moment. She holds the phone out and squints at the screen — _4:45 am_ , _what the fuck, Sam._

“Still awake, Lena?” Sam asks.

“Alright, give me twenty minutes,” Lena grumbles because honestly, breakfast is exactly what she wants right now.

She gets dressed for the day — figuring she’ll just go in after breakfast, get a head start on her work for today — and is on the rail heading towards IHOP within fifteen minutes. A really, _really_ drunk guy sits next to her, looking like he’s gonna throw up at any minute and Lena is glad her stop is next because she does not want to be here when that happens. She exits the car and walks through the Linq and out the other end, heading towards IHOP at the end of the street. The early morning light is just starting to shine and people in varying stages of drunk to sober stagger down the street, going in and out of casinos and shops.

Lena navigates the crowd with ease — the one place she actually feels safest, believe it or not. In a crowd it’s harder to pick her out, no one knows who she is, she’s part of a whole. It’s anonymity, and she’s never had that.

She edges past a group of guys sharing a joint between them and ignores the cat calls that follow. IHOP is fairly empty considering it’s a Thursday morning on the strip and Lena makes her way over to where Sam sits in a booth. The hot soccer mom sits next to her, staring down at her phone, and a blonde sits with her back to Lena. When she approaches the booth the hot soccer mom and blonde both look up and Lena freezes.

_Oh my god._

“Hey! We waited for you,” Sam says. She’s still in the same clothes from the night before — jeans and a faded t-shirt — and Lena feels a little stupid in her office clothes now.

“Lena,” Kara says, looking up at her, face breaking out in a grin.

Lena realizes she’s just standing there like a creepy person and quickly slides into the booth next to Kara.

“Small world, right?” Sam says with a knowing grin, mischievous glint back behind her eyes. “Turns out gondola girl is the younger sister of hot soccer mom.”

“Are you gonna keep calling me that the rest of your trip?” Alex asks, though the side of her mouth quirks up when she looks over at Sam.

“She’s right,” Kara says to the menu. There’s an audible thump as Alex kicks her under the table and Kara glares at her sister.

Lena picks up a menu a bit awkwardly and looks down at it, not reading the words printed on the laminated sheet.

Kara leans over and is suddenly _really close_ and whatever cologne she wears fills Lena’s nose and _jesus christ — she smells good too_.

“The cupcake pancakes are really good,” Kara says, pointing to a picture of a stack of pancakes covered in icing and sprinkles with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Lena is almost sick looking at it. She’s sure she’s going to have sugar problems just _thinking_ about it.

“That’s actually the worst thing you could’ve ever said,” Alex says. She puts her menu down and grabs the coloring page from the table in front of Kara. She starts methodically coloring in the picture of the pancake and piece of bacon anthropomorphized. Lena doesn’t miss the soft look on Sam’s face when she looks over to watch Alex color the piece of bacon orange.

_Shit_ , Lena thinks — she knows that look.

Kara starts to protest. “They’re actually the _best_ because —“

The waitress cuts her off and they give her their orders — Lena does not get the cupcake pancakes but Kara does, and also two sides of bacon, a side of sausage links, a plate of hash browns covered in gravy and cheese, and a glass of chocolate milk.

The entire table (save Alex, and the waitress who apparently knows Kara and doesn’t seem to find her order unusually large) stares at Kara who looks oblivious to Sam and Lena’s shocked expressions.

“No way is she gonna eat all of that,” Sam finally says.

Kara looks up from the picture where she’s coloring in the pancakes shoes blue. Alex snorts. “She totally will. Probably eat half of mine, too,” she says.

Sam shakes her head. “No way. I don’t believe that.”

Alex raises her brows. “Wanna make a bet on it?”

Sam glances at Lena, then pulls out her wallet. “A hundred bucks she gets 3/4 through and has to throw up. And you can’t eat fast — that’s cheating.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” Alex says, sticking her hand out for Sam to shake. She looks over at Lena. “You wanna bet against her too? I need a new laptop.”

Lena thinks back to the large order then looks over at Kara — tall and thin but muscular, probably more so than her short sleeved shirt lets on. Silently she pulls out her wallet and places another crisp hundred on top of Sam’s. Kara’s lips quirk up and she turns to Lena.

“You’re gonna regret that,” she says, and _god,_ she sounds cocky.

Side note: is it hot in this restaurant? Maybe they should turn up the air conditioning — it’s the summer for christ’s sake. What is it with these buildings and their heating problems?

Kara eats all her food and the rest of Alex’s (as predicted). She even gets a to-go burger for later. Lena isn’t even mad about losing the bet when Kara grins at her big and wide and pockets a bill Alex hands her (apparently sisters get half if they’re the one setting up the bet).

Lena is already dressed for the office and starts to dig through her purse for her phone to call an uber when Kara leans against the wall next to her, one foot propped up on the brick behind her. The sun is rising fast in the sky and the city that never sleeps is coming alive for the morning and Kara looks practically radiant in all of it.

“Where to first?” she asks.

Lena looks at her like she’s a lunatic — _what the fuck_?

“I — I have to work, and then I suppose Sam and I will —“

“Oh shit! I knew I forgot something!” Sam says. “Lena, meetings are cancelled today. I got us a tour guide!”

Lena looks from Sam to Kara and back again.

“Well, I got _you_ a tour guide. I got my own tour guide,” Sam clarifies and Lena really doesn’t want to think about what her best friend is doing during her _tour_. “Figured they could show us the city and we can meet back for dinner?”

“Sam, we can’t just cancel the meetings today —“

“I already did it.”

Lena blinks. “You did what?”

“I cancelled the meetings. You are officially free for the day — god knows you need it.” She squeezes Lena’s hand then steps back to where Alex leans against a light pole. “Well, have fun. We’ll see you tonight!” She yells over her shoulder, already walking down the sidewalk with Alex trailing next to her.

Kara grins wide and bright. “Is there anything you wanna see first?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song - Venezia la luna e tu by Luciano Tajoli

**Author's Note:**

> song — Tu Vuo’ Fa’ L’Americano by Renato Carosone.
> 
> As always send Thots to @zanthetran on tumblr/twitter <3


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